Back during my college years there were many days when I didn't have any money just like a lot students, and often times I could only afford one meal a day. I'm still here however so it wasn't as bad as it sounds. With the little money I had from working a part time job at the Hard Rock Cafe, I'd have to plan out exactly what I was going to spend and couldn't allow any excesses. We're talking about college here where excesses are commonplace, so inevitably I'd run out of money before the week ended which meant I wasn't going to eat...much.
It was NYC in 1989, times were different and some of the supermarkets had yet to convert to scanning every item, still slapping each item with price stickers. So an almost starving student in Midtown took it upon himself to switch some prices around to conserve as much money as possible, horrible I know but completely necessary. My diet consisted of several staples:
Sliced White Bread
Chunky Peanut Butter
Strawberry Jelly
Saltine Crackers
Granny Smith Apples (My vitamins)
Store Brand Ice Tea Mix
Ramen Noodles
That was basically it. On a good day, where it was easy to peel the stickers, I'd leave the grocery store paying around 10 bucks which would leave me with enough money for a Toasted Bagel from the deli near school for breakfast.
Lunch was always Peanut Butter and Jelly and a Granny Smith Apple, not exactly five star quality, but sufficient nonetheless.
At night sitting in my dorm room I'd dream about large Pizza Pies with delicious melted Mozzarella, footlong Sandwiches filled with tasty meats, and sloppy Burgers covered with Cheese, Bacon and dripping ketchup. Oh but it was not to be. My dinners came in a package, but they weren't TV dinners.
Ramen Noodles, never the choice, always the dinner.
Cooked in my trusty little crock pot, the noodles were the cheapest meal on the planet, and probably still are. Unfortunately that's how they tasted as well, but I got used to it.
So forgive me if I wasn't all over the trend of Ramen Noodle restaurants in New York City since I just didn't have it in me to go back to my college days. However I'm starting to think that it's time I changed my tune. Ramen Noodles have truly become a high quality meal from food trucks, to food vendors, to restaurants, and at this point there seems to be no stopping the trend.
This past Sunday the Daily News put out their choice for the best Ramen in the City, which went to Chuko in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Click the link below to read their article...
www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/best-new-york-a-great-bowl-ramen-brooklyn-chuko-t-beat-article-1.1122263
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